NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb track and field squad wrapped up another busy weekend as the Bisons closed out the Austin Peay Invitational with more strong results.

The Purple and Gold started off on Thursday with several athletes competing in the three-day Mt. SAC Relays and continued through to the Austin Peay Invite where the rest of the team performed.

"Austin Peay was a very solid meet,” Lipscomb Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Bill Taylor said. “It's nice to see the team do well across the nation this weekend, both at Mt. SAC and close to home.

“I really like that a lot of our up and coming distance runners are getting PR's and making big progress. They are setting up big improvements to come and are really getting themselves ready to move up into our top roster spots soon."

On the men’s side, the 800m was a highlight with Lipscomb taking three of the top five spots and six of the top 15.

"Sean Pino ran a fantastic 800 in 1:57,” said Lipscomb assistant coach Tim Muller. “He looked so smooth the second lap. He really was holding great form and producing good closing speed.”

In the women’s 800m, sophomore Kinzie Icayan placed 13th with a 2:22.03 mark.

“Kinzie ran well,” said Lipscomb assistant coach Kristin Cupido. “She keeps on dropping her times little by little and will break the 2:20 barrier in no time.”

Lipscomb had the third place finisher in both 1500m runs. For the men, senior Jared Wingerter took third (3:59.37), followed by freshmen Andrew Ayers (4:02.28), Austin Chitwood (4:05.19), and Brent Leber (4:05.45) in fifth, 10th, and 11th.

"We had a very strong showing from our distance guys,” Muller said. “The men really controlled their nerves and produced solid times across the board. In the 1500, Jared Wingerter got his season back on track with a 3:59 time. Andrew Ayers and Austin Chitwood also ran solid times. The men really stayed relaxed early and had strong finishes.”

In the women’s 1500m, sophomore Avery Franklin took third with a mark of 4:42.59. Freshman Hannah Owens and Madison Colley placed 13th and 14th with times of 4:58.81 and 5:00.22.

“Avery ran a terrific race in the 1500m,” Cupido said. “She got out fast, positioned herself well throughout the race, and finished hard for a PR against solid competition in 4:42.59. Hannah Owens, Madison Colley and Hannah Holbert also all ran personal records in the 1500m for a strong mid-distance showing.”

Lipscomb took three of the top five spots in the women’s 5000m: freshman Grace Oetting (18:05.89) in second, senior Hannah Munyan (18:42.63) in fourth, and freshman Bri Holland (18:51.59) in fifth.

“Grace ran great,” Cupido said. “It was her first 5k on the track, and she ran very smart to finish in 18:05. We're very proud of how far she has come in a short time back to running. She took the lead with a lap to go and just barely got beat at the line for a superb first showing.”

"Psalm Ocampo, only a freshman, really continues to make strides,” Muller said. “He ran a solid 15:24. It is great to see him drawing closer to the effort we know he is capable of.”

In the women’s 3000m steeplechase, sophomore Kacey Kemper and junior Kelsey Ibarra finished second and third with times of 12:01.46 and 12:04.19, respectively.

“The women's 3,000m steeplechase was fun to watch,” Cupido said. “This was Brianne Hoglin's first time running the event and setting a PR of 12:18.9, with Kacey Kemper having a season debut in 12:01.46. Kelsey Ibarra set a season best today, and Claire Losito was just shy of her best.”

On the men’s side, seniors Sean Hurd (10:09.48) and Fidel Leon (10:13.78) also took second and third.

In the field events, freshman Stephen Gibson placed third in the discus throw (42.50m) and sixth in the shot put (13.69m.)

In the javelin throw, senior Nelson Scott finished third (46.79m) for the men, while junior Abby Newby finished (30.44m) fifth for the women.

Junior Aaron Beckwith secured a second palce finish in the pole vault with a leap of 4.17m, a season-best mark.